Wake Me Up With Summer Rain
by Lab Cat
Summary: SEASONS UNIVERSE In this place,in this war, there are many stories never told of the players. 1: They don't relate to the war at all. 2: This further describes the players. Short stories of various themes. 061108: Made a decision and I'm sticking to it.
1. Story 1: Dried Tears

Wake Me Up With Summer Rain  
Story 1: Dried Tears

How is it that he is always alone?

No matter where I go, he always seems to be alone. I wish I have the courage to tell him how I feel, but I can't. Not that I won't, but I can't.

This started since I was a child, when I first met him, I always saw him alone…

_"You such a loser!"_

"Yeah!"

_"Get away from my children, you monster!"_

_"Leave or we'll kill you!"_

_"Die, you freak!"_

_'Just die…'_

I never understood why the village acted so cold to him. Father tells me to never associate with him, but I also noticed this sadness in his eyes when he tells me this. He cannot say anything that may jeopardize the family name, as the head of our clan. I can tell he wants him to be happy but he is restrained from doing so.

* * *

When I met him at the Academy, he played by himself on the swing. Iruka-sensei yells him at all the time, but he always treated him to Ramen later on. Other kids pick at him, or their parents pull them away from him whispering some horrible thing about him. I never understood why. Mother never said anything bad about him, ever in my life.

_"He's a good boy, who had good parents who wished for his happiness. They died for his future, and he will overcome this, my child. I promise you that. If you like, I can talk to your father about having him as a candidate for your husband…"_

Mother always said this about him. I always thought she was joking about him being my husband, but it seemed that she spoke truthfully about it. Father speaks of this seldom. When he does, he always said that Mother could see clearer than anyone in our family. I miss Mother. Father misses her too.

* * *

I usually hide behind trees, with a good view, just to see him. I see this confidant, smiling boy with sapphire blue eyes like the ocean and golden hair like the sun. Even with that carefree smile of his, it has a cloud of sadness radiating from it. I still to this day do not understand why.

I want to hold him, and will that sadness away. I always do.

When he left the village to train with Jiraya-sama, I missed him. So I trained. I made sure that I will be able to impress him. I will be able to tell him everything. I do all of this for me.

And for him.

When he came back, I was happy. So was he.

Just as friends.

Now I can't talk to him.

I just can't.

_"I'll just forget about him…"

* * *

_

Father arranged this marriage with one of the Lords in the Cloud village. They threatened to ally themselves with the Sound earlier because of something that happened a while ago, which I don't know. They offered a union between the wealthiest lord of their land to the daughter of the most prominent clan in the Leaf.

Me.

I accepted out of duty for the Leaf village. My first responsibility is keeping the village safe from everything.

Then…

Why did he come to see me, and tell me to run away?

He kept begging me not to go through this. I really wanted to listen to him.

Comfort him that I won't go through this. I would be able to confess my secrets to him. I want to be with him as his wife.

But I didn't. I just pushed him away.

I asked him not to come to my wedding.

_"If you can't be happy for me, I think that it would be the best if you didn't come." _

_"But, this is wrong! You know this and so do I! Please, Hin…" _

_"This is no longer about us. It is about the survival of the village. You and I know that. Please understand this. I'm doing this for the village. For my clan. For…" _

_"Why is it that you always lie to me Hinata-chan?" _

_'Why Hinata-chan…' _

I chose to forget him, and I did.

But he never forgot me.

* * *

I regret it to this day. I am not married to that lord. His village was attacked by the Sound and they allied with the Leaf and Sand to fight them. He still is around. I don't know. His question haunts me right now. It never leaves my mind.

I'm seventeen now. I rejected him once and I could never get him back.

I understand his sad eyes now.

I caused that pain.

And he still loves me even to this day, wherever he his now…

_'Why Hinata-chan…"_


	2. Story 2: Dulled Gold

Wake Me Up With Summer Rain  
Story 2: Dulled Gold

They say that you never know what you have until it's gone. I think I can understand that. Sometimes I wonder if I really wanted to pay attention, but didn't have the mental capacity that someone wanted to know me.

I guess a lifetime of pain numbs you to a point where you can't even feel love from those you care about.

That is sad, isn't it?

* * *

When I first saw her, I was an idiot. I will probably never admit this to anyone else, but I was (and probably still am) an idiot. I pretty much thought of her was really weird. Maybe a part of me liked that because someone else was sort of like an outcast.

Like me.

A little selfish, yes, but I liked it. I felt I could relate to her.

Then I saw her family.

At the time, I didn't know that she was from one of the strongest clans in the village. She was their heiress. She always had some form of protection to keep unwelcome persons from coming near her.

I was the definition of "unwelcome," and wanted to keep her away from me. I probably still am that definition.

* * *

During the Chuushin Exam, I saw her quite a bit. She even gave me a jar of her medicine cream. I was oblivious that she even liked me at the time. I think the blushing was a hint, but I did say that I was an idiot. When her cousin nearly beat her to death, I never felt so much anger. Enough that I wanted to kill him from where he stands. I probably felt more anger at him than at Haku when he nearly killed that teme. It scared me.

I did get my point across to the baka-cousin of hers, but what was more, it was what happened before my fight that was interesting.

She thought of me as a proud failure, someone who would not give up so easily.

What I said next wasn't intelligent, but the meaning was in there…

_"You know, I always thought of you as a dark, plain looking weirdo…"_

Very stupid of me, isn't it.

_"…But I like people like you."

* * *

_

After training for several years away from the village (with the perverted hermit), I came back home. The villagers still hated me, no change in that, but I wanted to see Hinata. It was weird. I always had this crush on Sakura. She was pretty and smart (and had a hell of a punch as soon as I soon learned). I found Hinata something different that I ever encountered in a girl before.

Sakura and Ino were loud, bossy, pretty, and had their ways with boys,

Hinata was quiet, shy and a great listener.

I made the decision that I would chase Hinata, like I did with Sakura, but more subtlety.

Somehow, losing her friendship terrified me, and I still don't really understand why.

She rejected me.

She flat out rejected me.

Of all people, it was her.

* * *

A long time ago, in place far away from here, we played together without fear of others finding out about us. We did almost everything together: eat, sleep, study, train…

Dream.

She was going to get married…and I didn't want her too.

I love her.

But she doesn't love me.

_"This is no longer about us. It is about the survival of the village. You and I know that. Please understand this. I'm doing this for the village. For my clan. For…" _

_"Why is it that you always lie to me Hinata-chan?"_

She always lied to me about her feelings. I know she loves someone, but I didn't know whom.

I think it is me.

Or at least was.

* * *

I'm going to be eighteen now. She isn't married. But I wish she wasn't here.

It would have been better if she married. Then she be far away from here, away from the War…

Away from me.

I don't understand why she loves a person that is so numb, that they can't even feel love from those they care about.

I can't forget her.

And I can't forgive myself for causing her pain.


	3. Story 3: My Friend, The Idiot

Sorry that it took awhile. I wanted this chapter to be good. This is someone else's point of view, rather than Naruto's or Hinata's.

Wake Me Up With Summer Rain  
Story 3: My Friend, The Idiot

I don't understand him.

How is he a walking contradiction?

An enigma walking among us.

He's also the world's biggest idiot.

As long as I knew him, he was an idiot. Actually he still is on occasion, but only to the most obvious of all circumstances. Even with that fault he has this fire within him that would light up in the darkest of moments and burn those who doubt him, me included. He is basically determined, loud, moronic, short-sighted, ignorant and have a big mouth when not needed. I can go on, but that is how he was always.

But I digress…

When we were in the Academy, he was dead last. No real talent, just a big mouth with big dreams. All he did was pranks that infuriated everyone around him and told everyone that he will be Hokage. At the time, I never thought he was anything to pay attention to; just focus on my studies to be the best and to surpass _him_. However, no matter what I do, it seems we are always against each other and it's only him that can piss me off. I never understood it. Neither did him, but that was normal.

When we were put in our , I thought that everyone around me would hinder my ambition. However it is always him that make me see that not everything is what it seems on the surface.

_"A ninja must see underneath the underneath."_

Kakashi-sensei told us that on our first day as full-fledged shinobi. That was something that I did ignore. Not only did that lesson come back to haunt me but also explained him in some way…

He has all these layers and buried what he really was, who he truly is. It made me wonder about his ability to overcome his obstacles. He was able to come up with plans on the spot and was able to see more that what that enemy was doing. He finds out secrets about a person and then understands their circumstances.

It irked me to no end…

In Wave Country, he showed intuition that seem out of place for a dead last. During our showdown with Zabuza and Gatou, Kakashi had said that Naruto had an insight in Zabuza's and Haku's feelings and understood their intentions, even if we were in different sides. He said it so vaguely, I wasn't sure if he was serious or not. I choose the latter, but it seemed to foreshadow something that I was going to see in Naruto in the future.

When we were in the Chuushin Exam, his power still astounded and (I won't admit this to anyone) frightened me. I was jealous that he had such great power and he was progressing faster and further than me (Summoning is a good example.). He showed no fear to the snake-bastard. I felt ashamed of myself, and of shaming my entire family. Neji, Garaa…he had no fear, and had the power to defeat them. I wonder about him.

An enigma…

He's empathetic to people who he doesn't know and becomes friends with them so quickly.

Even me.

He pisses the hell out of me, and I can keep on recalling old memories about him and my speculations on him, but it would make me sound like a Naruto fan. The only one who can be called that was Hyuuga Hinata.

Dumbass…

Look for your happiness for once.

You're actually making me worry about you.

* * *

END NOTES: Arrg…I'm worried now…This chapter went through four re-writes, because I hated the content. I knew what I wanted in it, but couldn't put it down right. ARRRRRRG! I hope it was ok.


	4. Story 4: Love is Blind, Obviously

Gah…I'm not sure how this chapter is going to end up, but I hope it is ok.

Wake Me Up With Summer Rain  
Story 4: Love is Blind, Obviously

"_But love is blind, and lovers cannot see the pretty follies that themselves commit." __William Shakespeare_

Sometimes I wonder about my life if I have never met any girls. I mean, my first crush…well, she hated my guts. My next one, and possibly was my first love, I hurt so badly, I wonder sometimes about it.

We had a weird relationship that was for sure. We mostly just talked, took many walks around Konoha, we sparred with one another and a few others and looked over the Hokage Monument. Not much. Both of us weren't heavy daters.

Some people referred us as opposites. I thought she was...well, I was only 12 and didn't get girls, so I thought of her as weird. But then, so am I.

She was introverted, gentle, and had a knack of seeing things others can't. I looked at her, years later, somewhat the ideal nurse you see at the hospital in one of Ero-sennin's books. Of course, when he tried to write her in his book, I knocked him into a hospital bed for several months.

I don't want her to be degraded to be one of the girls Ero-sennin would flirt and be forever remembered in his trashy books. Many would agree with me.

However, I do know this.

I really don't know much about girls and probably never will.

I guess I'm saying that if I have never met any girls, I don't think I'll understand anything in the world. Ever.

I suck at explaining myself. Why can't she hate my guts? At least then I would know what I did wrong and then I can try to fix it. Unfortunately, she still likes me. And same goes for me.

Our love life sucks but it is better than nothing.

END NOTES: It's pretty short, but it does reflect the confusion of the storyline.


	5. Story 5: Thunderstorm

This is a very short side story. Mostly an extended metaphor but that is debatable. Not my regular motif of NaruHina.

Wake Me Up With Summer Rain  
Story 5: Thunderstorm

Thunderstorms are destructive rainstorms with the added danger of thunder and lightening causing a chanced death. It darkens the land; a cool, foreboding presence that brings havoc in its wake.

He is a thunderstorm of his own. While his lightening targets his enemies, his formally gentle rain levels the land with great force obliterating everything in his path.  
Once he realizes this, he desperately tries to use his gentle rain to cool the damage down. His darkened clouds are driven away by the bright, flashy sun.

The sun comes to warm the land, making it more prosperous than it was before.

The rain comes in. The sun goes behind the clouds of the rain, only waiting until the rain is done.

Both opposites but need each other for balance.

The violet and the rose brighten under the sun and drinks in the cool water of the rain.

END NOTES: Kinda dorky isn't it?


	6. Story 6: Winter Requiem

Thanks for being patient for this installment of Wake Me Up With Summer Rain.

Wake Me Up With Summer Rain  
Story 6: Winter Requiem

I used to hate the snow. It was so white and plain, I just wanted it to be disturbed, even once. It wasn't that something bad occurred during a snowfall, it's just that I don't like it.

It's weird, since by birthday is in the winter. It always snowed buy my birthday.

My life is very quiet. Very plain as well. I always compared by family to the snow.

Pale.

Cold.

Hard to keep.

I feel isolated by it.

He was like a summer day though. And when I think of him, I feel the snow around me melt away and warm up. I don't like the cold. It's makes me fell more alone than I already am. The sun and warmth that he is, I wonder if I can be like that one day. Be something special.

Then he told me one day that he loved the snow. It brought out a mystical quality in the area. Even a bloody field can look pure when the snow fell on the corpses. It's chill wakes up the lethargy the sun always give. When snow came, he said, that magical things happen.

Then he gave me my birthday gift. It was a pendant that was shaped as a snowflake made out of diamonds and is set on a silver chain. He said I reminded him of the snow and how pure I was compared to its shimmer.

I don't hate it as much, now. It is still very cold and plain but I have a warm memory that is accompanied with it.

I always remember it, even though if the snowstorm between us still happening.

_"You're like the snow, you know…pure, untainted, magical…even beautiful…don't forget that…ok?"_

END NOTES: Well?


	7. Story 7: The State of the World

YAHH! CHAPTER 6! This is sort of an explanation to Hinata's soliloquy in Chapter 1. I'm also introducing some OCs, which I own. They just help fill in the gaps in my story.

Vocabulary: soliloquy: a passage in which a person is talking to himself or herself without addressing an audience.

Wake Me up With Summer Rain  
Story 7: The State of the World

I sometimes wonder about the state of the world these days. I mean that when something seems perfect if just goes horribly wrong, by your own hand or someone else. I was engaged several months ago. He was a man from the Cloud Village in Thunder Country. I don't even know his face. It would be beneficial for the village and my family.

Especially for me.

I am a horrible person at heart and the state of my world is my fault. The village is at war because my fiancé. He was an assassin that was here to kill our Hokage. The Cloud persists that it wasn't their fault. My Ookami-shishou (ookami: wolf, shishou: teacher, master) knows an advisor in that village and assures the Council that it wasn't a provoked attack on the Leaf. It doesn't matter, though. I still feel horrible, that I'm a bringer of pain.

I gave pain to the one person who doesn't deserve it.

I'm like everyone else in the village.

Cold-hearted to the hero of the Hidden Village of the Leaf…

My first and only love…

He no longer desires me, as I have done so my entire life.

Shishou says it is a punishment for lovers who don't treasure their loved ones. That person's loved one receives the other person's punishment, so that both would suffer. She says she knows how to love and still loves him still. They area apart but know they care for each other still. I don't know how she can go through the pain…

_"Shishou…how do you do it?"  
__  
"Hmmm? What do you mean?"  
__  
"How do you live on, with the knowledge that you hurt your loved one?"__"That he'd never forgive me if I didn't forgive myself. I loved him so much that I realized if I didn't love and care for myself, that I'd be killing my love one as well. Love's a two-way street, Hinata-chan! You know it, so do I; I just found out sooner than you did!"__"Demo…"__"That's how life is. You made just a normal mistake all people do that have so many responsibilities."__"You have them too."__"Yeah? So? I have loved ones and there more important that politics. Politics are there to secure all people. To secure yourself and others faith in you, you need to choose what's more important: the Village or Him. The Village would never forgive me if I didn't choose him, so I chose him because I wanted to and desired it so. I'll keep chasing for our utopia. That is my Nindo!"_She such a strong person…If I can be something like her one day, then I know I have a chance with Naruto-kun…

She's horrible overall. Everyone knows.

But so kind that people understand…

_"Never give up on chasing him! If you truly love him, never give you love up! Never! That is the way for all lovers! I swear to you as a proud Leaf kunoichi!"_END NOTES: That character has been on my mind for a while. I have a manga that stars her as the main character but it's not a Naruto universe manga though.


	8. Story 8: Flower Petals

This was a request from blooming flower08 who wanted a SasuSaku. Although I said that the main pairing of this story is NaruHina, I am going to add some SasuSaku and other couples. I think the side story _Thunderstorm_ was a SasuSaku themed story, although a bit more on the abstract side to it. I'll try to make this somewhat decent. I'm not used to other pairings just yet.

PS: This will play into actual story. It's just a story on the side that have occurred during Naruto's and Hinata's rocky relationship.

Wake Me Up With Summer Rain  
Story 8: Flower Petals

I guess I was always referred to as a flower bud. I guess it is because I haven't reached my potential yet, or haven't fully matured.

I've adored him for several reasons, most of them shallow. He was attractive, smart, mysterious, hard-to-get and came from a good and prosperous family. When we were placed in the same team, I couldn't believe it. I felt that my dreams came true. But as time went on, there was so much more to him that I originally thought. I…

I was scared of him, once, when he said he needed to kill a certain man.

I guess after he ran away, I think my buds just withered away. I felt like nothing. I had nothing to offer and that's why I was too weak to keep him with me.

Years now have passed. He's back home, relatively safe and somewhat sound. I don't think he sees me still, even with my drastic training to be able to protect everyone I care about.

A couple of months later after he was brought back, I found a blue salvia on my bed. I didn't know why, but I felt that it was my soulmate was speaking to me. I felt by then, I could let him go…

A month after my 17th birthday, and the same day I gently declined Lee-san's request for a date again, I found a bouquet of pink roses in full bloom.

Again and again, I found myself thinking of my secret admirer. He speaks to me using flowers. Such a romantic, and quite mysterious since I don't know who it is. He must be gentle because the flowers looked like they were handled gently and weren't roughed up in any manner.

I spoke to Hinata today, who had more of her ups and downs on relationships. She said that it was probably that I was because he was too shy to tell his feelings to my face.

_"He's probably worried you'd reject him, Sakura-san."_

_"But why? I get the feeling that he isn't as bad has he thinks he is."_

_"Maybe it was someone you rejected before and he can't face you because of that."_

_"The only guy that comes to mind is Lee, but he isn't the type to do this. He's WAY too open for something secretive."_

_"Ask my shishou. She seems to know about everything that goes on in the Village."_

_"You think?"_

_"I'm sure she knows who it is."_

Hinata's shishou is quite the eye-opener.

_"Yes, I do know who is your secret admirer, and no, I won't tell you."_

_"Huh? But why?"_

_"Well for one, he said not to say anything. And two, he knows you hate him."_

_"I don't hate anyone."_

_"You sure?"_

_"If it's Naruto, then I'd tell him…"_

_"WRONG! He's way into Hina-chan and his still heartbroken."_

_"Umm…"_

_"He seems to be the likely suspect, but are you sure that it's one of the most obvious guys?"_

_"There was only one person I liked very much, but I let him go."_

_"For your sake or his?"_

_"?"_

_"I know this much: he is an introvert. Not the type to openly show his emotions. Only his closes friends can see him completely."_

I know someone who doesn't show his emotions…but it can't be him…

I chose to let him go for **his** sake.

But I get the feeling that my admirer does this because I let him go…

When I got home that day, I found one white rose in full bloom and thornless and one dark red rose that is close to blackening on my windowsill.

I think I cried for a long time but didn't know it. After finding those two roses on my windowsill, I decided to give my response to my admirer. I left a striped carnation, red and white, on my sill this morning.

I found a sweetpea and a pink carnation laying where my carnation was,

Later today, I was told that Uchiha Sasuke was in a coma from unknown causes.

END NOTES: I have the definition of the flowers I was using in the story.  
blue salvia – I think of you  
pink roses – Perfect happiness; please believe me  
bouquet of roses in full bloom – Gratitude  
white rose – Eternal Love ; innocence; heavenly; secrecy and silence  
one rose in full bloom – I love you; I still love you  
thornless rose – Love at first sight  
dark red rose – Mourning  
striped carnation – No; refusal; sorry I can't be with you; wish I could be with you  
sweetpea – Goodbye; departure; blissful pleasure; Thank you for a lovely time  
pink carnation – I'll never forget you  
Taken from Pioneer Thinking.


	9. Story 9: A Bouquet of Withered Flowers

Gah…I'm not so sure about this chapter. It was just an idea on how to finalize that story short and how to incorporate it into the story. This is NOT one of my best samples of writing. This occurs in the last bits of "Flower Petals."

Wake Me Up With Summer Rain  
Story 9: A Bouquet of Withered Flowers

_Lay before me is red and white, striped. This hurts more that any kunai that ever pierced me in my entire life._

I've never seen such a sight. Hollow eyes replaced the arrogant and proud look. The tiny smirk gone away with just a line. Slumped before me is a shell of a boy…no, a shell of a man before me. To have loved and loss, that is what is done to him.

I always knew they were soulmates. This is my power. But even if the Heavens ordained their union, they are doomed in the end. I pray it won't happen the same way it did to my koibito and I.

_"Ken-kun, I…"_

_"Remember our promise."_

_"Of course I will! You ahou! Sometimes I wonder about you…"_

_"Ai shiteru, watashi no aijin._

_"Yoroshii…"_

I may have been a little cruel in doing this, but I would NOT let my best friend's takaramono die out like this.

I put a drug in his tea that I offered him. It would put him into a coma-like state for about a week or so. I know I'm prolonging pain but I feel it is necessary. He is impulsive and if he's in the hospital, they will keep him from doing anything stupid. Like his brother…

That baka…

The moment he's done with his part of the mission, I'm gonna pummel him to mulch and then get him to apologize his brother, UNTIL I KNOW HE TRULY HAS REDEEMED HIS BROTHER OF HIS IDIOCY!

I think I hear Hina-chan crying again and he's out like a light.

I guess she can help.

Maybe I can get both of these two with their koibito and then they can help me get mine back. Even if I have to send them to Hell.

Because they are giving me Hell with their problems.

This is a glossary of certain parts of this story.  
A Bouquet of Withered Flowers – rejected love  
ken – this word actually has many meanings but I'm using the meaning of heaven or emperor  
ahou – fool, idiot, simpleton  
ai shiteru, watashi no aijin – I was looking at different websites to find the accurate grammar of the statement I was trying to make. I'm trying to say "I love you, my mistress."  
ai shiteru – I love you in a deeper sense  
watashi – my  
ajin – lover, mistress  
yoroshii - OK, all right, fine, good, very well  
takaramono - treasure, treasured item  
baka – If you don't know this, then you are this word  
I know I'm back into present time. I think I should stop bumming around. I just hope this chapter doesn't dismay any more potential readers.


	10. Story 10: Diary Entries and Letters I

Actually I wrote this chapter some time ago, but didn't think of posting it up because I lost it for about 3 months. I'm going back to our protagonists. And for all of you who didn't know who was the mysterious speaker from the last chapter, she's an OC that plays into my story, but not in a major way.

Wake Me Up With Summer Rain  
Story 10: Diary Entries and Letters: Part 1

As I gaze out into the night sky, I wonder about my choices in my life. Especially about the one about _her_.

She was kind, gentle and really shy. Night coloured hair framed her luminous snowy white face. Her eyes were also white but like pearls, during the day. At night I thought her eyes were like the starts of the sky. She as petite but was powerful, if you underestimated her.

When I met her, she looked fragile, that she would break at any moment.

The starts aren't out right now. Like how she isn't around me.

I can't forget her even with the pain she caused me. I can't explain it.

Heh…

You would get hurt if you underestimated her power.

I think I read too much in our friendship.

A one-sided love that suddenly flipped.

She chased me. Now I chase her.

How ironic.

_Slowly (1)…_

I'm an asshole. Sasuke-teme was being so shitty today.

Maybe it isn't him who is the bastard.

I almost killed him after all.

Dammit…

I only thought of her and how she would react to what I'm doing now. Sasuke-teme, why do you have to be right all the time?

_"She loves you still you dumbass! Even I see it, and I was blind about everything! Dammit! Get over yourself, Naruto, talk to her! I'll kill you if you don't. Don't let me know that the one who saves us can't save himself from himself…"_

So much for reading "underneath the underneath." Sorry Kakashi-sensei.

I wonder what she's doing right now.

_Gradually_ (1)_…_

Have you ever wanted to die? I do.

I've thought of it before, when it was dark. When I didn't let anyone close. Some man I turned out to be.

Onee-san is depressed about me. I don't understand her sometimes. She tells me so many weird things. Makes me think of that time…

Anyways…

Onee-san complains quite a bit. I don't really understand why, but Oba-chan says her half-demon heritage puts her on edge, the majority of the time. I think I understand her grouchiness. She's isolated right from the start but she never let it interfere with her life.

_She_ trained under Onee-san, and loved her like sister.

Why do I keep talking about _her_ in past tense? She hasn't died…

I'm a bastard.

_Insanely (1)…_

_How long has it been? Three, maybe four years since I left. Is it wonderful as I left it. Konoha? Is it?_

_Onee-chan is good to me. She's a little bitchy, but it was because we got attached by a bear demon yesterday. (Oct 27) Onee is worrying me though. Even though I'm protecting her, it's more like she's protecting me. DO you know why? You did train with her._

_I miss Home. Bye._

_Naruto_

END NOTES: (1) I took this off of a translation of Rurouni Kenshin volume 19, the last chapter. It is describing the development of Naruto-kun to his horrible point. As for the letter at the end, it was sent while Naruto was traveling with Jiraiya and met up with my OC. That is NOT important to the story, but plays a small part in Naruto's development.


	11. Story 10 part II and Story 11

I am so sorry for leaving like that. I've gotten through my first semester at university. Too much time on my hands. Me procrastinate a lot. This chapter was interesting really hard to write. I really wanted to have a history timeline explanation, but I couldn't handle it. So, I think I'll leave the timeline thing alone for a while until I get the nerve to write it.  
Anyway… This is a really short spat from my OC. That and a small drabble that is outside the actual story…SORRY!!

Wake Me Up With Summer Rain  
Story 10: Diary Entries and Letters: Part 2

_Late evening, Early May._

ARRRRRRRRG!!

This has to be the most infuriating problem in my (known) lives.

How the Hell did matchmaking become so hard??

This is a family talent. We find two suitable people that match. Even if they are countries apart!! Centuries even! Soulmate theories and such…(1)

_Early morning, Late Sept._

Sasuke is looking at me weird. Maybe it has to do with me drugging him earlier this year. He hasn't really eaten anything I have made. Not that I blame him.

He did confess he shared his meals with Sakura as lunch dates.

Maybe the matchmaking thing isn't too hard. My cooking is the best after all.

At least his birthday isn't too far away.(2)

_Early evening, late Dec._

She's got a ring.

She's got a goddamn ring.

I can't believe it.

She claims it was an anonymous birthday gift and that it is a promise ring.

I read the card.

Only he would miswrite "I love you."(3)

_New year. Late day, mid Feb._

He's was back for awhile until he had to leave.

He gave me irises(4) and orchids(5) this year.

Naruto kept teasing me until I punched him and forced him, Sasuke, Lee and Neji to run around the village a thousand times.

I enjoyed the fox-hunt later.

_Late evening, late Mar._

Sound attacked again.

Itai-nii(6) came back.

Naru-kun is in a coma. Hina-chan is practically in a coma herself.

The black roses(7) were blooming beautifully today.

END NOTES: definitions again…  
(1)Matchmaking – OC history again…  
(2)Sasuke's birthday – I read in a magazine that his birthday is on September  
(3)"I love you" – Yeah… there are two ways, that I know of, to say it in Jap. One is 'daisuki' (is that correct spelling?); referenced to love in familiarity, like family members (I think…I'm taking this off from One Piece). The second is 'aishiteru,' "I love you" in the deeper 'lovers' sense. My reference is the card has 'aishiteru' instead of 'daisuki'.  
(4)Iris – faith; hope; wisdom and valor  
(5)Orchid – love; beauty; refinement; beautiful lady  
(6)Itai-nii – It's back to that history thing again… It's a nickname she made to annoy the heck out of this character.  
(7)Rose (black) – death

Story 11: Blue and White and Red in the Face

He really wanted violets.

I didn't get it.

I know he could have gotten any flower he wanted and he wanted violets.

He said violets reminded him of someone he left. Blue violets exactly voiced what she was to him. That is what he said.

He wanted to give her white ones though.

I laughed at him all day; even Ero-sennin noticed. He kept asking me if I was sick. He was so red that I swore that it would stay that way, even after seeing her again.

_Violets generally represent modesty, calms tempers and induces sleep. Blue violets mean watchfulness, faithfulness, I'll always be true. White violets mean "Let's take a chance on happiness."_

END NOTES: Arg… I hope this gives you a fill until next time… You know what site these definitions come from…


	12. Story 12: A ShikaIno pairing

030207: Sorry, this is a note and a side story. I want to explain about the story and why it's taking such a really, _really_ weird road at the moment and confusing the hell out of many people (you don't have to voice it to see it).

I'll explain: I enjoy thought-out and clear stories, something with a simple easy-to-understand direction of the story conflict. For this story, it is supposed to build on the original storyline, with my own additions to make the plot my own. Earlier, I wanted an angst/romance based from when after Sasuke left the Leaf for the Sound. I modified the 2 ½ year gap so that it can play on the relationship development. Then there is a two year gap after that.

Naruto timeline: Naruto – 12, became genin; more than half a year later, Sasuke ditches Konoha and everyone goes separate ways to develop; 2 ½ years later, Naruto, 15 closing in 16, comes back to the village, try to get the "Sound/Leaf war" to end; 2 years more, Naruto 17, closing in on 18 have relationship problems that effect his performance on missions and his motivation in the war and his goals.

That is where the romance conflict is _supposed_ to start and the actual story is to go from there. However, I left innumerable plot holes and inconsistencies it leaves me straggling to get through it. It is still actually holding to my original idea, it's just… not really getting there, if you know what I mean. I've already started planning a back story based on this Narutoverse I created. It already got too complicated to keep as one whole story. From where I stand, I see my romance story coupled with the development that occurs in the Leaf /Sound war.

Anyway, this side story is supposed to be a ShikaxIno pairing. I swore I try to write this pairing as one of the supplementary couples. I don't know if it will work out. I do read TemarixShika and read the occasional TemaShikaIno triangle (though there are few to read and fewer written well).

Meaning: I suck if I am outside my comfort zone. I'm a NaruHina shipper primarily. I also can write SasuSaku and the occasional SasuHina. I never wrote (in any previous attempt) any other heterosexual or homosexual couplings. I need editors for every SPECIFIC coupling I write… That has to be some kind of terrible curse in not being able to write properly in any direction that I am given.

As a side note, I tend to shy away if not avoid making one-on-one replies to the reviews. I usually (would) like to highlight specific ones that come to my attention (like Danny-171984. Bless the guy for being loyal to an inconsistent writer like me). Let's say I'm finally getting over the shock that my writing is not extremely horrible and is able to rack up some reviews. I've been around roughly 6 years now (Dec of 2000) so let's say it's a shock-to-my-system to actually have reviews. I will take your complements with grace, your criticisms in open arms, and flamers who just bash the writer and their preferences… get a fucking life, you dumbasses. If you don't like it, why bother reviewing it. I have not liked several stories (no offense to the writers. I liked other material of similar authors and their related material but it's a matter of preference to what _stories_ you read) and immediately stopped reading them. I find taking the time saying "I don't like your story" is a waste of time. I like what I like but I respect what others like and do (in this case, write). Idiot flamers who put reviews like "This is crap" are probably not even realizing doing such idioms create more disarray in this shit of a life we already have (e.g. religious and moral beliefs of North American beliefs to Middle Eastern beliefs). At least consider that you may get beaten to death for not really respecting others in the same community. There are reasons why people can track others by IP addresses and… you know. At least if you are going to say why you don't like the story, base it on how the story is formatted, storyline errors… something that can at least improve the story quality. If it's the material… well, that calls for more of an email message so there can be a one-on-one discussion. I sound like a teacher… I DO requests to a point. I just tend to lean to what I am good at.

Sorry for the long long-winded note, I will backtrack a bit and work with its prequel of sorts, to get my storyline back on track. I will appreciate the feedback anyone can give me.

If this is horribly terrible, PLEASE TELL ME. I want to at least portray the characters correctly (considering that crack fics are abundant, this is NOT a crack fic).

Thank you for your patience and sorry for the length of time that has passed. This short one-shot will be my last for this version of this story. I'll direct your thoughts to the prequel after this, continuing the storyline I have created.

By Lab Cat

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I also don't own xxxHOLiC.

Wake Me Up With Summer Rain  
Story 12: A Shadow in the Presence of Darkness

A shadow works well in light. Sneaky, hidden, and works accordingly to the time of day's light. Hides even the most noticeable of noticeable. It is not the noticeable, nor is it the noticeable. That is a shadow. It is meant to hide things indiscriminately.

That is what Nara Shikamaru is. A plain guy. Not incredibly handsome, nor is he butt-ugly. Smart but too lazy to apply is intelligence. Loyal to a fault. Terribly hard to anger and when provoked, harder to stop. Everything is too "troublesome" to him, without knowing that he is being troublesome himself. As like the shadow, he works directly behind the main body, only a mere extension of a person. And hides his truths easily under a mask of indifference.

In the sky, the clouds roll by. The freedom these puffs of vapor water have is what he envies. They don't have to hide from the light, are completely exposed and never judged harshly. Very much what he wants to be but never can be.

Shadows are best partnered up with light. Light extends and shrinks a shadow's power. In darkness, it just swallows everything in its path.

A shadow is a dark thing but not true darkness.

Fire is very much both a "light" and a "dark". Shikamaru can tell you that very much. It brings warmth to cold bodies and light for those lost in the darkness. And yet, it leads hoards of shadows in its wavering path. A bringer of darkness and light.

The fire this boy of shadow faces now is neither a helper nor hindrance. This fire is merely a spectator to watch the shadow's own growth and decline.

Shikamaru's secret is hidden in light but exposed in darkness.

The fire knows the secret but does not appear to acknowledge it.

Fire is a sacred element and the most feared. Of the five, it is of pure destruction. Wind and Water brings life. Earth fertilizes life. Lightening, the most ambiguous of the five, can herald danger and instinct in the brain and mind, or the coming of Fire. Her power is strong and intriguing. Beautiful in her elegance and deadly to touch. Watch but don't touch. Although Wind is the messenger of the elements that brings all information to them, Fire has a tendency to find the most revealing of information. Information that can bring fortune and rebirth (as in life burring down to Earth and renewal of the cycle) or bring calamity and destruction (such as the Apocalypse).

Fire gives Shikamaru a gardenia(1).

"I'm pretty sure you know the meaning of that flower."

"Obviously. Ino would pound the meaning of every flower in her family shop when we were children."

"Then…?"

"Do I _have_ to give it to _her_ face-to-face?"

"Now that would ruin the message, wouldn't it?" A quiet giggle is emitted from the enigmatic wolf-demon clan's princess. Thin, pale legs slip back into the folds of a flowing purple kimono, blood-red cherry blossoms dotting them, connected to branches. A senbon needle is pointed at him with a faint red string wound on it. From one end, it ties onto the shadow's left pinky, the other end flows outside the doors of the wish-granter's shop.

Shikamaru looks at the flower, then at his friend's 'sister'. _'I should have not taken his advice. She is not the type of person you show give your trust in.'_ A giggle is emitted from the white-haired woman once again. She stands and motions for him to follow her. Moving out the doors of the shop, the fog rolls around outside the fence of the shop. A blue-eyed youth cleaning the yard turns to them, smiling in a pitying manner towards Shikamaru.

"I feel a bit sorry for you."

Glaring at the boy, he asks harshly, "How so?"

He smiles gently this time. "Getting involved with someone like the ookami-oujo(2) leads to a hard path with the most promising futures. You must love someone deeply to go through that kind of strife," He looks at the flower in Shikamaru's hand. "So much so that you can't tell her face to face."

Shikamaru looks at the flower, then at the boy. "Did you make a wish from her and this shop?"

He laughs gently. "In a way yes and no. I met her awhile ago when I was fifteen. She helped me through some of my problems, many with a relationship of someone I am involved with right now. Mostly because it was her specialty and Yuuko-san said that she is the best in her field and much stronger than her with these types of wishes. As for the wish… I made one a long time ago. I can't make that wish come true anymore or I'll lose everything I worked for. Ironically, I started working here to pay off that wish. I couldn't take back the wish, nor could I let go of everything. In the end, I kind of got screwed over and my wish was practically no longer in reach. In a way I'm glad because I don't think that was my real wish. Yuuko-san always said that the purpose of this shop was to fulfill the desires of a person. Although they say what they wish, it may or may not be the actual wish they want. I fell in the latter of those two wishes. In a way my wish was granted but because of excruciating circumstances beyond anyone's control, I'm bound to the shop now."

"So now you are…"

"I'm very much alive and human, like you. The only difference between us is that I live in one world, you live in another. The only way we can meet is through people like Yuuko-san and the ookami-oujo." He looks to the entrance of the shop; it has relocated to a busy street in Konoha. "Ah! The shop has relocated to your world now. You can see that childhood friend of yours. Ino, right?"

Shikamaru was walking towards the gate while talking to the boy; he spun a rough quickly glaring at the boy, with a growing blush. "It isn't for her."

The boy gave Shika an all-knowing look, not to far different from looks the Dimension Witch gave the boy constantly. "Trust me, I know denial. You'll feel better after leaving that flower on her windowsill. I suggest giving a yellow tulip(3) in person afterwards." He looks around. "You better go. The shop has to get back to where it was before, in my world. Don't ask why, I don't even know either. Humans are determined to learn about everything in their version of the world. All we could do is make our world a bit more livable, for ourselves." He then shoos our Shikamaru into the busy street.

"Hold on! What's your name? Mine's Nara Shikamaru." He desperately needed to know what was going on. Nothing was making sense in his logic-driven mind. First, that demon lady disappears and then this boy tells stories that don't seem to make sense but answer his questions.

The boy smiles secretly. "You should know better than to give out your name freely. I should know. Someone can steal you soul if you're not careful. However, my name will be safe with you. My name is Watanuki Kimihiro." With that, the store fades out, taking the blue-eyes youth with him, leaving a confused and flustered Shikamaru holding the gardenia in his left hand, the faint red string wrapped around it.

"Ah! Finished talking to Kimihiro-chan are you!"

"ARG!" He falls over, surprised by the demon's abrupt appearance. "Where the hell were you?"

"Outside waiting for you to come out. I supposed you boys needed to talk about your love lives a bit. He knows what he's talking about. He's paying for it, although he isn't regretting it, thank goodness." The she-demon turns around; that's when he noticed that she wasn't wearing that kimono eerily reminding a bit of poison, mystery and death. She wore a standard jonin uniform and vest.

"What was that…?"

"Merely a shop that has a greater purpose that you don't need to concern yourself yet."

"Yet…?" He doesn't like the sound of that.

"Not your problem, poor Kimi-chan's and Shizuka-kun's. But they will help Konoha in its own way, like it did with Sayoran-kun and company."

"What…"

She turns around. She smiles a bit more gently and sadly then what he usually sees from her. _'Naruto was right. There is more than meets the eye with her.'_ A soft sigh resonates from her mouth.

"Go to her. Do what Kimi-chan said. It will become more fortunate for you later on. Don't lose you chances." Then she leaves with a puff of smoke.

He looks to the flower in his hand, surprised that there are now two flowers in hand.

"A gardenia and a yellow tulip? Who are you planning to give them too Shika?"

He takes in a deep breath and turns around, doing what his better advised him to do."

END NOTES: Yeah…If you know about the series Tsubasa Chronicle and xxxHOLiC, you'll get some of the references made. There are also references made to a one-shot I had written. If you want more explanation about the "relationship" reference, read my xxxHOLiC stuff. It will help on the overall of how my story is supposed to go. Once my editing is done with this story, then it will make more sense. If anything, I got the idea of different perspectives from those two series.

Here are some translations of the meanings:

(1) Gardenia: You're lovely; secret love

(2) ookami-oujo: literally "wolf princess"

(3) Tulip: in general they mean fame, charity; perfect lover. Yellow ones mean hopeless love.

Very sorry for the long, long wait.


	13. Story 13: Choosing Between You and Me

052308: This is a simple oneshot that I came up with after reading chapter 401 in Naruto, the most current chapter right now. This is takes place years after the series and somewhere in the middle of my Seasons series.

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. Also, the Yuuko quotes are not mine either; they are CLAMP's.  
Warning: SPOILERS OF CHAPTERS 380-401, use of OC

Wake Me Up With Summer Rain  
Story 13: Choosing Between You and Me

"You should know, first, that it is hard to kill a member of the Wakahisa clan, Sasuke-chan. Even if he had the intent to kill me and deceived everyone that he is a traitor, he should have known that I would have known the truth the moment he turned his blade at me. I would have gladly died for him by his blade… if the reason was reasonable."

"I still cannot accept these lies."

"That is your reality then."

"He said the same thing."

"He spent much time with my imoto. It would be appropriate that his view of the world is larger and is tainted with melancholy."

"Why did you not seek revenge? He…"

"…Betrayed me? I am not a narrow-minded as a 7-year-old who saw his entire clam massacred. That and I hated a lot of your family. Though my imoto hated him more."

"She did?"

"Well… It's more that she barred him from me, knowing our relationship. I remember her screaming one night when she was 3 years old. Probably a vision, but I had no knowledge of it, at the time. Later when she met Itachi, she set various traps intent to maim or kill him. Very lucky he is a tensai or he would have been dead. She probably divined your future that night too."

"I don't believe in such thing."

"As is your reality tells you. But mine says otherwise."

"…"

"I cannot kill a man who would accept the bloodstained hands of a cursed woman, especially one from the Wakahisa clan. No woman in our family can."

"How sentimental."

"That isn't the reason. The potential mates of the women of the Wakahisa clan tend to die violent, horriible deaths at a young age."

"…"

"This is a result we never desired. It is easier to let something pass while others should be prevented. Hopefully the Great Toad Sage's prediction comes to pass. That brat is still an idiot, but a good one who is at least has all his intentions show up front."

"Prediction…fate…destiny… this is your reality? How can you believe in something that is intangible?"

"I can believe it because… If you were about to die and someone tells you beforehand how it would go, would you believe it to be a guess, a coincidence, a co-conspirator, or something else?"

"Coincidence. Pure luck. Nothing can be predetermined."

"There is no such thing as 'Coincidence.' That is a lie created for the rightfully ignorant. You, who are at the doorstep of our world, have no right to say that. After all, you are a shinobi. A shinobi can do things normal humans cannot do. For them, that is false, fantasy, just an illusion made in their minds. Though shinobi are well known in this world, few can understand the complex nature of ninjutsu. Few cannot even consider the existence of demons. Reality is made from what we accept and what we don't. But that itself is dangerous."

"A shinobi's life is full of danger."

"Everything living has a life full of danger. Shinobi are just exposed to it more."

"…"

"In the end, you must accept what is told to you as a reality. What a person says is what they said, nothing more. This is beyond truth and lies."

"…"

"In the end, before love and honor, he chose family to be the most important. You, who deny the words said by that man and Itachi, only bring unfortunate happenings to yourself and to those you interact with. Especially to the 'Destined Child' that will bring fortune or misfortune to this world."

"…I am free from any shadow that plagues me."

"You are plague by your own shadow. Either way, no person is truly free. That is impossibility."

"Then… what is reality to you?"

"The man I loved made a choice that he does not regret, and I am happy for that. If he died with no regrets, then he knows that he'll see me again."

"Regrets…"

"You need to live a life with the fewest regrets. They determine your future. In the end, that is how it is determined."

"I…"

"Sometimes the translation of words gets lost with actions. Sometimes, you need to slow down to listen, to understand."

"…"

"If this is your path, then I will not deter you. As long as you don't have regrets, I won't hate you."

In the end, all of Sasuke's decision were made by his own hand. The dead only speak if they have regrets but I won't see him again. He didn't regret anything. I think in the end, he knew I knew and that is why he was able to go through it. As long as we let ourselves listen to others, I think the world will have fewer regrets in the future. Only that can be decided by our inevitability.

NOTE: There are a lot of things here not completely explained. They are explained in Book 3: Winter.


End file.
